Bolsonaro’s positive coronavirus test marks ‘beginning of the end’ for his administration, analyst says

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s positive diagnosis for the coronavirus marks the “beginning of the end” of his administration, one analyst told CNBC, while others expect the right-wing leader to double down on his highly-criticized pandemic response.

Bolsonaro told reporters in a television interview on Tuesday that he had tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing symptoms for the disease over the weekend.

He claimed he now felt “very well,” saying the high temperature he had experienced on Sunday had since gone down.

The president also said he was taking hydroxychloroquine — an anti-malaria drug championed by his ideological ally, President Donald Trump — and azithromycin, an antibiotic, to treat the virus.

Neither of the drugs have been proven to be an effective prophylactic or treatment for Covid-19.

The diagnosis comes after Brazil’s president consistently dismissed the threat of the virus for months. He has previously described the disease as nothing more than “a little flu” and claimed his past as an athlete would make him immune to the worst symptoms.

“Despite publicly shrugging off his positive test for Covid-19, it marks the beginning of the end of his administration,” Robert Muggah, director of the Igarape Institute, a think tank based in Rio de Janeiro, told CNBC via email.

“It is yet another visible expression of his recklessness and ineptitude,” Muggah said, before adding the country was still without a coordinated national strategy to tackle the outbreak.

A government spokesperson was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Wednesday.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/coronavirus-bolsonaros-diagnosis-marks-beginning-of-the-end-for-his-administration.html